Implications of income uncertainty for socially efficient redistribution are examined. Counterintuitively, a policymaker may respond optimally to a negative utility shock in the economy by redistributing income away from those who suffered the shock. In particular, it may be welfare enhancing to...

A worker's decision whether to apply for public transfers may depend not only on his expected level of forgone labor earnings but also on his degree of uncertainty about such earnings. This article provides theory and evidence about the effects of earnings and eligibility uncertainty on...

This article provides new evidence about the impact of Social Security Disability Insurance on male labor force participation decisions based on estimates from a structural model of applications, awards, and state-contingent lifetime income flows. The lifetime framework makes it possible to...

This study investigates the determinants of applications for US disability benefits between 1986 and 1993 using a semiparametric discrete factor procedure. Approximating a dynamic optimization model, the estimation carefully accounts for a variety of potential biases that weren’t addressed in...

This study uses data from the December 2003 Food Security Supplement of the CPS to compare the food insufficiency and insecurity measures with objective measures of food expenditures and objective and subjective measures of food needs. The study examines the general relationships between these...